Biography

From Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation:

"His father John was a leader in the express mail business, and helped found the American Express Company. Butterfield graduated from Union College in 1849, and became a merchant in New York City. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he served as a colonel in the 12th New York militia. Demonstrating leadership in military engagements on the upper Potomac in the Shenandoah Valley, Butterfield rose rapidly in the ranks to brigadier-general of volunteers in the 12th Infantry.

Butterfield distinguished himself as an officer, and during the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns he served as chief of staff to the Army of the Potomac. Wounded at Gettysburg, he was reassigned as General Hooker’s chief of staff at Chattanooga and the Atlanta campaign. By the war’s end, Butterfield was promoted to a major general “for gallant and meritorious conduct.” Among all his wartime achievements, he is best remembered as the composer of the mournful bugle call “Taps.”

After the war, Butterfield remained in the Army in New York City, where he was superintendent of the recruiting service and commander of the troops in New York harbor. He resigned in March 1870 and headed the local United States sub-treasury before joining the family business, American Express. Butterfield also displayed considerable business acumen in real estate and railroad construction ventures. In 1886, he married Julia Lorrilard James in London, England. 

In his later years, Butterfield was the master of ceremonies for several notable events and public spectacles including the Washington Centennial Celebration (1889), General Sherman’s funeral (1891), and Admiral Dewey’s triumphant return from Manila (1899). He is entombed at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York."